Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

The Tang Dynasty's western expeditionary army has officially begun its campaigns against the Western Regions and the Western Turks.

Battle reports from the front lines, along with the newspapers of the Tang Dynasty, seemed to have wings and spread rapidly throughout the various regions and counties of the Tang Dynasty.

Chang'an, the imperial capital of the Tang Dynasty, inevitably became much busier due to the lucrative war profits from the front lines.

Merchants and chambers of commerce from the south began investing in Chang'an, Luoyang, and Taiyuan.

Meanwhile, in Chang'an, the long-suffering Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty finally began to feel the benefits of war.

This brings direct benefits to the government's finances.

"Your Majesty, the commercial tax revenue in Chang'an has increased by 40% compared to last month, and has now reached a staggering 800,000 strings of cash. Now, the railway station you mentioned can begin construction."

Fang Xuanling was radiant with health.

Money cannot solve all the problems in the world.

However, in terms of court policies and administrative handling...

Money can solve all problems. If there are problems with national policies, the root cause is that the court and the national treasury do not have enough money.

Now, with some war orders deliberately diverted from the front lines to Chang'an by Bingzhou Road and distributed to factories and workshops around Chang'an, Chang'an is finally regaining the vigor it had in the early days of the new policies in Taiyuan Prefecture.

Li Shimin nodded in satisfaction, holding a document in his hand, while pacing around the Ganlu Hall to stretch his back, which was a little sore and numb from sitting all day.

"Yes, that's good. That train station is very important. Construction has already started in Taiyuan Prefecture, and we can't let Chang'an fall behind. Whatever the engineers sent from Bingzhou Prefecture say, we'll have the Ministry of Works cooperate in building it!"

"You must ensure the quality is excellent for me!"

Nearby, Duan Lun, the Minister of Works who had come to report on his work, hurriedly responded.

Then, as if he had thought of something, Li Shimin paused and looked at the other person.

"The dredging of the canals and waterways between Youzhou and Bingzhou in Hedong Road should also be completed as soon as possible. Xuanling, allocate an additional 20% of the budget to the Ministry of Works and mobilize more manpower. It should take at most a month and a half."

"The first phase of the Yellow River water conservancy project on the Bingzhou Road side is about to officially open its gates and allow water to flow!"

Duan Lun hurriedly bowed and replied, "Yes."

Li Shimin waved his hand, and the latter withdrew.

Li Shimin, however, stood in front of the Ganlu Hall, gazing at the sky outside with a bored and helpless expression.

A long sigh.

"Xuanling, being emperor is so boring. Chang'an... can never compare to Taiyuan."

Fang Xuanling was embarrassed, but didn't know what to say.

Nowadays, everyone in the court knows that His Majesty the Emperor is always frowning, thinking about going out to lead troops into battle.

Almost every day, he would personally inquire with the Ministry of War about any reports from the front lines.

Fang Xuanling remained silent.

In his heart, he thought to himself, "Your Majesty, if you had been more obedient to His Highness the Crown Prince, would the position of General Who Conquers the North have fallen into the hands of the Retired Emperor and the old ministers of the Wude era?"

However, he only thought these words to himself.

Nowadays, Fang Xuanling, and even ministers like Du Ruhui and Gao Shilian who helped Li Shimin manage state affairs during the Zhenguan era, have no intention of going on expeditions with the army or competing for military merit.

Their descendants are already serving the Crown Prince.

These old men, honest and hardworking, did their best to manage the Tang Dynasty before His Highness ascended the throne, and gradually implemented His Highness's new policies in other parts of the Tang Dynasty.

I'm perfectly content...

Li Shimin waved his hand dismissively, signaling Fang Xuanling to leave and continue with his official duties.

He let out a long sigh and paced toward his harem.

Lizheng Hall.

"boom!"

"Hey, Empress, let's see if you can catch this! Bang!"

"Hey! Bang!"

The low gasps of the concubines in the harem were accompanied by the sounds of thuds.

As soon as Li Shimin entered the area, he saw him in the garden behind the Lizheng Hall, holding a racket with a bowstring as the net.

He was hitting something made of bird feathers.

People come and go in front of a net.

Empress Zhangsun's hair was piled high, while Consort Yin and Consort Wei in front of her had their hair casually tied in a ponytail and wore dresses of styles never seen before.

Sweating profusely...

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects..." Li Xueyan, who had been standing outside the stadium quietly watching the game, quickly stood up and bowed.

Li Shimin pointed at everything on the field with some astonishment.

My mind was momentarily unable to process what was happening.

He turned his head, and fortunately, at this moment only palace maids were serving him in the Lizheng Hall, and even the eunuchs and guards had left.

"Guanyinbi, what are you doing? And... what are you all dressed like..."

Li Shimin's face flushed slightly.

What I wanted to say was something like "offensive to public morals" or "has a bad influence," but at that moment it came out as just another sentence.

"Wow, that's really weird!"

Consort Yin looked somewhat embarrassed, but her eyes couldn't help but linger on Empress Zhangsun's slender figure. This emperor was always saying one thing and meaning another.

A playful smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

"Does Your Majesty find it strange... or does it find it tempting?"

Her voice was melodious, with a hint of allure.

Having just finished a badminton match with Empress Zhangsun, she was drenched in sweat and her pretty face was flushed. Her demeanor reminded Li Shimin of the past few days.

Among all her concubines, Consort Yin was the most daring in bed, and she wore strange undergarments at night.

"hiss......"

Li Xueyan lowered her head in embarrassment and stood silently to the side.

Thinking back to a few days ago, I had those shameful clothes made based on the drawing my elder brother, the Crown Prince, had made and sent to the palace.

Now, facing her future "father-in-law," she, who is naturally shy, almost wanted to run away on the spot.

Li Shimin adjusted his facial expression for a while before he could suppress the urge to embarrass himself.

"Ahem, this... could it be another new gadget sent from Bingzhou by the Crown Prince?"

He walked to a shelf to the side, picked up a racket, and then picked up a strangely shaped shuttlecock.

This kind of thing had never appeared before in the Tang Dynasty.

He touched the strangely textured tip of the badminton shuttlecock, somewhat unable to understand what material it was made of.

Fortunately, Consort Yang noticed his curiosity.

Explain in a soft voice.

"Your Majesty, this thing did not come from Bingzhou, but it was a method left behind by the Crown Prince before he left Chang'an. It was researched and made by the craftsmen in the palace and is called a badminton shuttlecock."

"It's like Cuju (ancient Chinese football), a kind of exercise. The ball at the top was made from whale skin that Ke'er brought back before the New Year..."

Li Shimin nodded, his interest piqued.

Suddenly, he turned his head and looked at his own empress, who was fighting against both Consort Yin and Consort Wei alone, and had completely overwhelmed them, unable to catch the ball at all. A smile involuntarily appeared on his lips.

"Guanyinbi, how about I play with you for a while?"

The two, a couple with the highest power in the Tang Dynasty, exchanged a glance.

Both of them had eaten the Vermilion Fruit sent by their own Crown Prince, and their bodies had already reached almost the pinnacle among mortals.

Empress Zhangsun gently brushed a strand of hair from her forehead, her smile gentle, but her eyes seemed to hold a knife beneath her gentleness.

"This... If I were to defeat Your Majesty, and Your Majesty were to lose your temper and refuse to attend to state affairs, it would likely disrupt Gao Ming's work... Perhaps it would be better to just let it go."

Li Shimin was almost amused by this seemingly rebellious person who had taken up with her own ways.

"Am I the kind of person who can't accept defeat? Enough talk. My word is my bond. If you, Guanyinbi, can beat me today, if you can win a single round against me, I will give you a gold brick!"

Now that commercial taxes have increased, he no longer invests all of his private salt funds into the imperial court.

Full of confidence, he started by mentioning a gold brick.

Hear the words.

Empress Zhangsun's eyes flashed, and she nodded slightly.

"Very well... Xueyan, you help me and His Majesty count!"

Yang Guifei and Li Shimin briefly explained the rules and techniques of badminton, and after the latter indicated that he understood, they agreed.

Both sides stood still.

"Empress! Smash this stinky man!!!" Consort Yin screamed, like a little fangirl.

Li Shimin turned his head: "???"

In the first game, Empress Zhangsun served.

She gently held a badminton shuttlecock, her smile gentle and virtuous, as if she were wearing a soft-focus filter in everyone's eyes.

Like a goddess descended from heaven...

Empress Zhangsun looked at Li Shimin, who stood upright with a sword in hand, holding a racket like a chivalrous knight, with a half-smile in her eyes.

"Your Majesty, you haven't returned to the palace at night for the past few days. I wonder where you've been staying?"

Li Shimin's old face froze instantly, before he could offer any flustered excuses.

next second.

"boom!!!"

A dull, drum-like explosion suddenly rang out, and a badminton shuttlecock, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, hurtled towards his face, instantly magnifying in his vision.

Li Shimin: "!!!"

"Snapped!"

Li Xueyan lowered her head, and faced with such a scene of gods fighting, she could only silently flip the counter board next to her.

"Oh dear, Your Majesty, how could you be so careless? Was I satisfied with the force I used just now?" Empress Zhangsun smiled, but she realized that it was Li Shimin who had found out about her scandalous affair with her brother and sister-in-law.

His lips twitched for a long time, but he managed to manage a slightly ingratiating smile.

"Hehe, Guanyinbi, what are you saying? What could I possibly do? Staying overnight is just to expedite the inspection of the textile factories around Chang'an the next day, isn't it? Hehe..."

Empress Zhangsun smiled coldly, but another badminton shuttlecock appeared in her hand.

Take a deep breath.

An invisible aura gave Empress Zhangsun a sense of oppression, like that of a fierce general on the battlefield. While Consort Yin and the others were dazzled and surprised, Li Shimin, who was standing in front of her, was already sweating profusely on his back.

"Guanyinbi, I will not..."

"boom!!!"